Catching Lily (Spring Training Book 2) Read online

  CATCHING

  Lily

  Spring Training, Book Two

  BECCA JAMESON

  Catching Lily

  Copyright 2017 by Becca Jameson

  Kindle Edition

  eBook ISBN: 978-0-9972463-3-9

  Print ISBN: 978-0-9972463-4-6

  Cover Artist: Scott Carpenter

  Editor: Christa Desir

  All rights reserved: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. And resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  Acknowledgements

  A gigantic thank you goes out to Steve Miller for all his help answering my numerous questions about the spring training baseball stadium in Jupiter, Florida. His patience and the help of his blog site ensured the accuracy of this series. smillermarlins.wordpress.com

  Another shout out goes to my editor, Christa Desir, for all her hard work making me shine! Can’t do it without her.

  And, last, but not least, I’d like to thank my husband and my son for making sure my baseball scenes are accurate. Who knew which direction a foul ball usually goes when hit by a left-handed batter?

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Acknowledgements

  About the Book

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Author’s Note

  Books by Becca Jameson

  About the Author

  About the Book

  Welcome to the Spring Training series by best-selling author Becca Jameson. Spring Training follows the lives of several major league baseball players as they deal with the fame and reality of life and love. This second book in the series, Catching Lily, features the pitcher and the woman who has haunted him since their chance meeting three months ago.

  When it comes to games, he has mastered every rule, on and off the field.

  After sneaking off to have the hottest sex of her life with Dominic Cordes, the insanely sexy pitcher for Miami’s major league baseball team, Lily Phillips can’t imagine ever facing the man again. She acted completely out of character. But there’s no way to avoid seeing him three months later at the wedding of their mutual friends.

  Dominic hasn’t forgotten a single moment with the tiny blonde who submitted to him so thoroughly that night. He should have called. Now he will have to face her wrath.

  The steam between them hasn’t abated, but starting a relationship proves nearly impossible between Lily’s inexperience as a submissive, their hectic schedules, and an ex-boyfriend who does everything in his power to interfere.

  Is it worth it? When they’re together, the world stops. But reality keeps threatening to tear them apart.

  Chapter One

  “Nice balls.” Lily meandered around what Dominic referred to as his library. Lily would have called it more of a trophy room than anything else. She was afraid to touch anything, so she clasped her hands behind her back.

  Dominic chuckled. “You like those, huh?”

  “Sure,” she lied.

  “I tend to collect important ones.” He stepped up next to her and pointed toward a row of them. “My first major league win. My first pitch in the minors. My…” He turned his face toward her. “You don’t give a shit, do you?”

  “Nope.” She grinned. “Sorry. But I’m sure there’s a logical man-thing going on here.”

  “Have you ever even been to a game?”

  “Of course.” She lifted her hand, pretending to look at her nails. “I went to two games with Zia this past summer. They were…interesting.”

  He laughed again, shaking his head. “You want a tour of the rest of the house? Or are you happy just looking at my balls?”

  She finally dropped her hand and giggled. “Sure. Lead on.”

  Holy smokes, this man was hot. Built. Sexy as hell. It was extremely cliché for her to flirt with him and consider all the sinful things she’d like him to do to her, but she didn’t really give a fuck tonight.

  The entire day had been an insane series of events. The asshole she’d been dating for two years finally pushed her last button, so she officially kicked him to the curb. Her best friend, Zia, had gotten engaged to Brett Michelson, Dominic’s teammate and second baseman for Miami. And then Zia and Brett had dragged Lily to this party.

  The irony? The party was to watch Monday Night Football. The only sport she cared less about than baseball was football. But she’d agreed to come with Zia and Brett. It was better than moping around feeling sorry for herself. And she figured at the very least there would be plenty of eye candy.

  She was not wrong on either count.

  Dominic was the best eye candy in town. The party was at his house, and it seemed he was one of the few eligible bachelors in attendance.

  He was also too young for her. But again, she didn’t care. He was smoking hot, freakishly built, and currently flirting with her.

  She needed the ego boost. If he thought she was cute enough to pay attention to, she wasn’t going to argue. Evidently he did, seeing as the football game was currently in the second quarter, and he was giving her a tour of his house.

  If you could call it a house. This younger twenty-something guy was already so wealthy that he had a palace, not a house. She thought she might get lost in it. Apparently major league pitchers made a bit of money.

  Not that she cared about money. She lived a comfortable life. Owned an art gallery, her own home, and a nice car. Too much money would just buy trouble.

  Nevertheless she enjoyed the way Dominic Cordes looked at her, how he set his hand on her lower back to guide her through the house, and the fact that he kept licking his lips.

  Any sane woman would find the attention a huge boost to her self-esteem, no matter where it lay on the spectrum. Lily had perfectly fine self-esteem, or she did until Luke Vandergriff got his hands on her and trampled it with the sole of his shoe for two years.

  It was time to put him out of her mind and concentrate on someone who appreciated her.

  Like Dominic. The pitcher.

  Even his hands were big. He was over six feet tall.

  She was a foot shorter than him, although she had on heels tonight that made her closer to five-six. She followed him up a set of stairs near the back of the house behind the kitchen. Did he have two sets of stairs? Lordy.

  They definitely weren’t on the majestic stairs she’d seen when she first arrived through the front door.

  “You live here alone?”

  “Yep. Well, no. Not during the week. I have a woman.”

  She flinched. That was a weird way to put it.

  He laughed. “Not that kind of woman. Brenda’s about fifty. She cooks for me and takes care of the house.”

  “Ah.” Relief washed through her. It was one thing to fantasize stripping down and letting Dominic Cordes have his way with her. It was another thing entirely if he had a revolving set of women he fucked in his bedroom. The idea gave her the chills.

  He laughed harder. “Don’t worry. I’m not a total playboy.
Not every woman I meet gets a tour of my house.” He winked.

  She should have been leery. She should have stayed in the basement in his gigantic game room or his media room. She should have kept her ass on the stool she’d occupied at his amazing bar with the other women at the party.

  But no. She had taken this leap, and now she was standing at the end of a long hallway on his second floor.

  He pointed out rooms as they wandered down the long stretch of thick carpet. Finally he stopped, opened a set of double doors, and led her into what had to be the master bedroom.

  The room was bigger than her entire apartment and incredibly inviting for a bachelor. The bed was king-size and four-posted. The comforter was thick and fluffy and deep navy. She wondered if the sheets under it were also navy.

  She roamed around his space, taking in his personality.

  He blew that out of the water two seconds later when he announced, “My sister and my mom did the decorating. I have no sense of style.”

  She nodded, rounding the corner to step into his master bath. Then she stopped dead.

  Holy shit. It was obscene. Every possible convenience known to man was crammed into that space. No. Crammed wasn’t a word that would describe his bathroom. It was so damn large there was plenty of space. She thought for a moment of that song by Nickelback about a bathroom he could play baseball in.

  She was standing in that bathroom. How fitting.

  The floor was shiny black tile, and the vanity was black granite. The cabinets were a contrasting white. Her gaze darted to the oversized tub, causing her to hear the lyrics to that same song in her head. It was practically big enough for ten plus one. She didn’t see the shower, but she realized it was behind the tile wall. The sort of shower with no glass door. A walk-in.

  She fought to keep from drooling. Then she inched closer to verify the tub indeed had jets.

  She was in love.

  “I could fill it if you want?” Dominic’s deep voice sent goose bumps up her spine.

  She twisted around to face him. “Nah. It would look kinda funny if we returned downstairs with my hair wet.”

  “You could stay up here. I’ll tell everyone you felt sick and went home.” He lifted a brow, a half smile accompanying it.

  My God, he was tempting. Not just the idea of lounging in his tub, but the thought of running her hands over his chest and pressing her naked self against him. She licked her lips, letting her gaze wander up and down his torso.

  What the hell was up with her tonight? She’d never been this feisty before. Never so openly flirted with a man. Never considered the possibility of fucking someone she met two hours ago.

  But Dominic was her dream guy. At least visually. Who knew what he was really like in his heart, but for now, he was simply the most amazing eye candy. Exactly what she needed after finally putting an end to her crappy relationship with Luke. Dominic Cordes was the polar opposite of Luke Vandergriff. Where Luke was lanky, blond, and preppy, Dominic was rugged with dark hair and a trimmed beard. He stood a foot taller, was muscular, and had the dark skin of a man who spent a lot of time in the sun.

  Dominic had an infectious smile, and damn if he didn’t look at Lily as though he wanted to devour her. Never had Luke looked at her like that. Why the hell had she wasted so much time with him?

  Dominic stood in the doorway to the bathroom, grasping the doorframe at the top and leaning his enormous body forward. His delicious pecs stretched his designer T-shirt tight over his chest, accentuating his muscles. His jeans probably cost over a hundred dollars, and they were worth every cent.

  His hair was a little long. Wavy. Swept haphazardly so that a curl hung over his forehead.

  Then there was the beard. Ordinarily she didn’t find beards attractive, but Dominic’s was perfectly groomed. Not hanging so long that a meal could get lost in it but cropped short, making him look scruffy.

  “How old are you?” she asked as she sauntered toward him, taking careful steps to ensure she didn’t trip over her rubber legs.

  “Why? Does it matter? I’m legal, if that’s what you mean. I have a high school diploma.”

  She hesitated, cringing inside. She’d graduated from high school sixteen years ago. It wasn’t even on her radar anymore. She hadn’t referred to anything in relation to her graduation in a decade.

  Fuck.

  “Come here.” He didn’t move, continuing to hold himself up casually by the doorframe.

  She lifted a brow. Her feet kept inching forward, though. And she was suddenly sorry she wore the heels. She was normally quite confident in heels. She wore them nearly every day at the gallery. But tonight…

  She glanced at her watch. How long had they been gone?

  “Don’t worry about the time. No one’s looking for us.”

  That was untrue. Zia wouldn’t have stopped worrying about her from the moment she left the room. But she also knew Zia wouldn’t go wandering around the man’s house in search of her friend.

  She had to believe none of the other players would, either. Some sort of man code. They were probably high-fiving each other in front of the television.

  “We’ve been gone almost ten minutes. I haven’t even shown you a third of the house. When we get back downstairs, be sure to mention the greenhouse out back, and everyone will be convinced we did an extended tour.”

  “You have a greenhouse in your backyard?”

  He shrugged. “Brenda likes it. It’s her baby. I just eat whatever she grows and enjoy whatever flowers she puts in my line of sight.”

  Lily couldn’t keep from smiling. “You’re obscene.”

  “Come here,” he repeated in a lower tone.

  Her nipples tightened at the way he looked at her and the timbre of his voice. Her sex had been wet since she’d first set eyes on him, so nothing changed there. Her panties were soaked. If he touched them, his chest would puff out two sizes larger.

  Damn, how she wanted him to touch them.

  This was so unlike her. She didn’t even recognize the woman drawn toward this enormous ball player as if he’d tossed a rope around her to lure her forward. Where was the practical Lily? The woman who’d been used as a doormat for the last two years.

  She finally reached him, stopped inches from his body, and tipped her head back to meet his gaze.

  He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. “You smell amazing.”

  “Thank you?”

  Suddenly, he released the doorframe, grabbed her around the waist, and lifted her off the ground.

  She squealed like a girl half her age as he spun toward the vanity and set her on the counter.

  His hands were threaded in her hair in less than a heartbeat, and his mouth… Oh. God. His mouth.

  He didn’t just kiss her. He devoured her. He held her head steady exactly where he wanted it and licked the seam of her lips until she opened for him.

  The moan that escaped her was irrational. The renewed flood of wetness between her legs made her squeeze her thighs together. Her breasts felt heavy. They ached inside her bra, abrading against the lace.

  Dominic eased one hand behind her head to cup the base of her skull and keep her exactly where he wanted her. The other trailed down to cover her breast.

  She moaned into his mouth again, her spine arching toward him. She grabbed his waist and clutched his T-shirt, tugging it so she could get her hands underneath and feel his skin.

  Every ounce of common sense she may have used for thirty-four years fled her body.

  She was reduced to nothing but a ball of arousal that bordered on ridiculous. There was no way she was going to stop it.

  They were both consenting adults. At least she hoped he was…

  Didn’t he have to be at least eighteen to play major league ball? Yes. Of course. Right?

  She shook the age difference from her mind and focused on his fingers squeezing her breast. The white blouse she wore bunched up under his palm. It would be wrinkled.

  She would not be able
to leave this room without everyone in the house knowing what she’d done with Dominic in their absence. Maybe he could get away with it, but her hair alone would tell the tale. And her makeup…

  Dominic lowered his hand to jerk her blouse out of her pencil skirt. He flattened his palm on her belly and then eased it up to cup her breast again through the bra.

  Every move he made was calculated, confident, controlled. He didn’t seem nearly as young as he had to be.

  Finally, he broke the kiss and leaned back. His gaze was heated. Intense. It roamed down to her chest. “I need to see you. All of you.”

  She nodded, unable to form words. She wanted anything he would offer. Her fingers trembled as she lifted them to the buttons on her blouse to free her chest.

  Dominic reached forward to help her, frustration obvious in his furrowed brow. But she swatted him away. “You’ll pop a button. Then I truly won’t be able to return downstairs.”

  He closed his eyes, nodding while he took a deep breath.

  She managed to release every button and eased the blouse over her shoulders, setting it gently on the counter beside her. A flush covered her chest. One glance confirmed the red splotches she always got when she was nervous or aroused.

  “Damn, you’re gorgeous.” Dominic released his grip on the counter to reverently cup her breasts with both hands. His thumbs grazed her nipples through the lace, making her drag in a sharp breath.

  He ignored her, popping the front clasp of her bra and gently easing it down her arms to set it on top of her blouse. Then he held her biceps with both hands and stared at her chest.

  It was unnerving. He lit a fire in her without moving. She’d also never felt more beautiful. Luke certainly hadn’t ever made her feel one-tenth of what she’d felt under Dominic’s gaze from the moment she’d arrived at his house.

  She shook thoughts of her lying, cheating ex-boyfriend from her mind and focused on Dominic’s lingering gaze. She didn’t even care if he had treated a dozen women to this same mind-blowing attention. What mattered was how he made her feel. As if she were the queen of the universe and everything revolved around her.